MorungExpress: Nagaland: Friday, 02 May 2014.
More than
five years have elapsed since the Right to Information Act (RTI) came into
force across India including in Nagaland. But the impact of RTI on the people
is yet to be felt simply for the reason that except for a very few cases, the
Act itself has yet to be fully realized as a tool for empowerment. While the
State Information Commission has done its part by traveling across the State to
help spread the basic tenets of the RTI movement, yet for ensuring good
governance, transparency and accountability at all levels of government
functioning, there is still much that needs to be done to create awareness on
this very important piece of legislation and educate the public about the
different facets involved so that the Act would prove beneficial for the
citizens. While most of the government workshops in partnership with the
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative has been done mainly to prepare the
administrative heads, heads of departments and other public authorities to
enable them to meet their obligations under the newly enacted Act, similar
workshop should also be conducted for the public. The concerned NGOs, academic
forums or even the civil society groups should take the lead in this regard.
When citizens are properly enlightened about the legislation only then will
they realize the immense utility envisaged in the Act.
Some of the
success stories in States where there has been effective utilization of the Act
are indeed heartening. It is no secret that it is rarely possible to get any
work done in any government office without paying bribes or being made to run
around. But now, one would have an option without the need of paying or doing a
favor to somebody to get your legitimate work done in any government
department. The simple act of demanding to know the status of your grievance
petition, and the names of the officials who have been sitting on your file,
does wonders. There have been stories about people getting new electricity
connections, faulty meters replaced, wrong bills rectified. The Act has done
wonders in other States. Right to Information is also redefining the
relationships between the people and the governments. Till now, the people had
to run around the government officials to get any work sanctioned or to get any
work done in their area. Not anymore. Right to Information provides such
critical information and evidence in the hands of the common man that equipped
with this evidence, a person is able to take on the most entrenched vested
interests.
Information
is indispensable for the functioning of a true democracy. Open Government is
the new democratic culture of an open society towards which other States are
moving and Nagaland should be no exception. But for all of this to happen, requires
a vigilant public ready to actively participate in the democratic process. The
RTI Act is a lever to help in this democratic participation and the immense
potential available through the provision of the RTI can be harnessed for
public welfare. More importantly, since the chief objective of the Act is to
bring about transparency and accountability in the administration by
transforming the people themselves as watchdogs of the administration, the Act
if properly utilized by the common man, will make our administration more
effective and at the same time responsive.
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